I am an associate professor in medical science at the Musculoskeletal & Sports Epidemiology Center at Sophiahemmet University. I am a licenced naprapath and have a background working in different sports settings for more than two decades.
My research aims to deepen the knowledge about risk factors for developing sports injuries and how to successfully reduce the risk of these injuries, with a special focus on youth sport. This is very important since injuries is one common reason youth athletes quit sport. Moreover, many severe injuries during the adolescence increase the risk of future muskuloskeletal problems and diseases, why secondary prevention is important as well.
My research area also includes evaluating return to sport criteria after injuries with a focus on concussion, knee and shoulder injuries.
The Swedish Handball Cohort (SHC) (n>1700) aims to investigate risk factors for handball injuries and to evaluate preventative measures in youth handball.
The Karolinska Handball study (KHAST) (n=471) aims to deepen the knowledge about injuries and the functional status in the shoulder in adolescent elite handball players. A cohort of 470 players, 15-17 years, recruited from handball profiled high schools in Sweden, is followed for two seasons regarding shoulder injuries.
The Karolinska Handball study – RCT (KHAST trial) (n=709) aims to evaluate interventions aiming to prevent injuries in the shoulder and knee in students at Handball-profiled High schools in Sweden.
The Karolinska Football Injury Cohort (KIC) (n=419): This project is a collaboration between epidemiology, medicine, psychology, orthopaedics, physiotherapy and naprapathy, composed of research groups at five universities, to identify risk factors for overuse and traumatic injuries.
Title
Associate Professor in medical science
Department
Department of health promotion
Telephone number
+46 8 406 29 67
Email
martin.asker@shh.se
ORCID
0000-0002-5387-3572
Title of thesis
Shoulder injuries in adolescent elite handball players
Author of several peer-reviewed scientific articles published in high-quality international journals.
Author of several peer-reviewed book chapters in international publications within the field of sports medicine.
Supervisor and co-supervisor of multiple doctoral and masters students.
Head of the international research network, the Handball Research Group.
Member of the steering committee at Centrum för Idrottsskadeforskning och Utbildning at Karolinska Institutet.
Presenter at over 50 national and international conferences in the field of sports medicine.
Has recieved over SEK 15 million in research grants.
Onell C, Skillgate E, Melin A, Källberg H, Waldén M, Edlund K, Hägglund H, Côté P, Asker M. Dietary habits in adolescent male and female handball players: The Swedish Handball Cohort. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2023;9:e001679. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2023-001679.
Asker M, Hägglund M, Waldén M, Källberg H, Skillgate E. The effect of shoulder and knee exercise programmes on the risk of shoulder and knee injuries in adolescent elite handball players; a three-armed cluster randomized trial. Sports Med Open 2022;8:91. doi: 10.1186/s40798-022-00478-z
Schwank A, Blazey P, Asker M, Møller M, Hägglund M, Gard S, Skazalski C, Haugsbø Andersson S, Horsley I, Whiteley R, Cools AM, Bizzini M, Ardern CL. 2022 Bern Consensus Statement on Shoulder Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Return to Sport for Athletes at All Participation Levels. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022;52:11-28. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2022.10952.
Asker M, Waldén M, Källberg H, Holm LW, Skillgate E. Pre-season clinical shoulder test results and shoulder injury rate in adolescent handball: a prospective study on female and male elite players. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2020;50:67-74. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2020.9044.
Asker M, Brooks H, Waldén M, Tranaeus U, Johansson F, Skillgate E, Holm LW. Risk factors for and prevention of shoulder injuries in overhead sports: a systematic review and best-evidence synthesis. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52:1312-1319. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-098254.
Asker M, Holm LW, Källberg H, Waldén M, Skillgate E. Female adolescent elite handball players are more susceptible to shoulder problems than their male counterparts. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2018;26:1892-1900. doi: 10.1007/s00167-018-4857-y